Karnataka Housing and Minorities Affairs Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan on Tuesday denied all allegations of corruption in his department and declared that he would resign immediately if any wrongdoing is proven against him.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Khan said, “If I am found guilty or if my name even comes up in the investigation, I will resign. I’m not here to stick to my seat at any cost.”
The minister’s remarks come in response to corruption allegations linked to housing allotments, following an audio leak involving Congress MLA BR Patil, who suggested officials in the Housing Department were accepting bribes. Another Congress MLA, Raju Kage, also supported Patil’s claims, even hinting that he may resign over the issue.
Khan challenged both Patil and Kage to publicly name any officials allegedly involved in bribery, stating, “They should come forward and reveal the names of those who demanded money for housing allotments. We have only allotted houses based on requests made by MLAs.”
The minister further welcomed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter, saying, “I have nothing to hide. I have already instructed department officials to conduct an internal inquiry, and I am also open to a CBI investigation.”
Dismissing allegations of deliberate delays, Khan said the housing backlog was due to the large number of applications. He added that over 900 houses have already been distributed across panchayats under the scheme.
“We earlier gave ₹1 lakh for housing. I’ve pushed for that to be increased to ₹3 lakh. We’re prioritising ongoing projects, which is causing some delay,” he explained.
Meanwhile, BJP state president BY Vijayendra seized on the controversy, accusing the Congress-led state government of turning Karnataka into an “ATM for the party high command”, and claimed that bribes were now a prerequisite for accessing welfare schemes.
As BR Patil prepares to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on June 25, the internal tensions within the Congress have drawn sharp political attention, especially with opposition parties amplifying allegations of what they call “commission raj” in the state.